Circuit de Monaco

How it began

The idea of a race through the streets of Monte Carlo came from Antony Noghès, one of the leaders of the Automobile Club de Monaco. The first Monaco Grand Prix was held on 14 April 1929 and won by William Grover-Williams in a Bugatti.

In 1950 the race was part of the first World Championship season: Juan Manuel Fangio won it on 21 May. For the next four years, from 1951 to 1954, it was not on the championship calendar; since 1955 it has been held every season, the only gap being 2020, when the race was cancelled.

The track

The track is made up of the streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour. It is the shortest and slowest lap on the calendar: the hairpin by the Fairmont hotel is the slowest corner of the season, and beneath the hotel the cars go through a tunnel, the only one in the championship.

The section along the swimming pool appeared in 1973, when part of the track was moved onto land reclaimed from the sea. Overtaking is almost impossible here, so grid position from qualifying matters more than anywhere else.

The rules make a single exception to race distance for Monaco: the usual 305 kilometres are not reached here, and the race is run over a shorter distance.

Who has won most

The record for wins belongs to Ayrton Senna: six, in 1987 and in every year from 1989 to 1993. Before him, Graham Hill collected five wins in the 1960s, earning the nickname “Mr Monaco”.